End dike for a paper coating machine



Dec. 29, 1959 J. P. MUNTON ETAL 2,918,899

END om: FOR A PAPER COATING MACHINE Filed Nov. 4, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 jy WM/J Ra M w 1959 J. P. MUNTON ETAL 2,918,899

END DIKE FOR A PAPER COA 'I ING MACHINE Filed Nov. 4.. 1958 2; Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 2,918,899 "END DIKE FOR A PAPER COATING MACHINE John P. Munton and Philip A. Peterson, Worcester, Mass., assignors to Rice Barton Corporation, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 4, 1958, Serial No. 771,778

4 Claims. (Cl. 118-413) This invention relates to machines for coating webs of paper, especially the kind of machines that make use of a roll to pass the web through the coating liquid and a blade adjacent the roll to level the coating liquid received by the web.

I In coating machines of the type with which the present machine is concerned, the coating liquid is disposed between a coating roll and a so-called head assembly which supports a blade with its edge next to the surface of the roll. The web of paper to be coated is passed by the roll downwardly through the liquid from whence it emerges along the line where the blade and the roll meet. At the sides of the head assembly there are adjustable side panels called dikes. These are movable toward and away from one another so that the liquid can be confined to that portion of the roll over which the web of paper is passing irrespective of its width. Heretofore it has been a problem to provide for such widthwise adjustment of the dikes and still be able to fit them precisely to the roll and to the stationary mating parts of the head assembly. This problem is aggravated by the hazard 'which the moving roll and the blade present, especially when the dikes are relatively close together and diflicult to reach from the side of the machine.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to

provide an improved dike construction for paper coating machines.

It is a specific object to provide a more precise means for adjusting the edge contours of the dike in order to fit them to the roll and to-the adjacent parts of the head assembly.

It is another object to provide an adjusting mechanism that is more easily and safely operable.

The novel features of the invention together with further objects and advantages thereof will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings to which it refers.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of coating apparatus including the novel dike construction according to the invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged sectional views taken on lines 2-2 and 33, respectively, of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4. is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 but on an enlarged scale and with certain portions broken away to show more clearly the structural details of the dike according to the invention.

With reference first to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that numeral 11 designates a coating roll over which a web of paper is passed to be coated. The coating liquid is held between the coating roll and a coating head assembly including a structural walled portion 12 and a blade 13. In effect, the roll and the walled portion of the head assembly form the sides of a trough with the blade at the bottom. At the ends of the trough there are situated the dikes 14 which are fitted between the walled portion and the roll.

Rigidly joined to the top portion of each dike is a member 15 provided with a key 15'. The key 15' fits in a keyway formed in a member 16. Member 16 is bolted to the portion 12 of the head assembly. By means of this arrangement the dikes are constrained for movement parallel to the axis of the roll, whereby their spacing from one another can be appropriately adjusted depending upon the width of the web of paper. There is also associated with each dike a splash guard comprising a fixed member 17 and a member 18 fastened to it by means of bolts and wing nuts 19. Slots are provided in member 18 to receive the bolts so that the mem ber 18 can be adjusted to provide a smooth continuation of the very nearly radial contour of the edge of the dike adjacent to the coating roll. As shown, the contour of the dike does not quite match that of the roll, however, there being more clearance between them toward the top of the dike than at the bottom. The reason for this is that the coating liquid has less tendency to leak out at the top due to the action of the roll on it. Consequently, in order to minimize wear of the roll, while at the same time avoiding leaks, it is highly desirable to contour the edge of the dikes very precisely each time the machine is set up for a run.

To accomplish this result according to the invention, each dike is formed with a cast body 21 having the general shape of the overall dike assembly but somewhat smaller in outline dimensions. This is best shown in Fig. 3. Overlying the inner and outer surfaces of the body are cover plates 22 and 23, respectively. The cover plates extend beyond the marginal edges of the body to form a channel and in between them there is retained a continuous length of felt gasketing material 20. The plates are held together by means of bolts 24 extending completely through the body.

With reference now also to Fig. 4, it will be observed that the outer plate 23 has a slot in it which extends from its top edge generally downwardly to a point near its bottom extremity. The reason for this slot is that there is an integral ridge on the body which projects through the slot. At substantially uniform intervals, there are provided concentric bores in the ridge which are adapted to receive bushings 2S and provide clearance for machine bolts 26 threaded into the bushings. The machine bolts have their shank ends pointed and carry lock nuts 27, as best shown in Fig. 3.

At right angles to the pointed ends of the machine bolts and in engagement therewith are slidable elements or push rods 28 retained in bores in the body. All but two of the push rods are attached directly to backing plate sections which bear against the gasket 20. These two push rods, which have been specially designated 28' and 28", are attached to bearing elements 37 and 38, respectively, which serve to distribute the force of the rods more evenly over the surface of the backing sections against which they bear. The backing sections have been designated 3136 and the highest numbered pair of these disposed at the corners of the dike are the ones with which the bearing elements are used.

Finally there are provided elongated holes 41 in the push rods. The body 21 is drilled opposite these holes and pins are driven into it and through the holes in the rods. In this way an effective stop mechanism is provided for the axial travel of the push rods.

That is to say, in operation very precise adjustment of the gasket 20 can be obtained by virtue of the fact that its backing is articulated and the individual backing sections are separately adjustable. For example, if the gasket is not close enough to the roll in the vicinity of the blade, it is only necessary to tighten down on the bolt 26 in contact with the rod 28'. This will cause the rod and attached element 38 to move against the backing section 36 and thereby urge the gasket towards the roll. Conversely, loosening of the bolt 26 permits the gasket to retract under the pressure of the moving coating liquid. One very practical advantage of this arrangement is that the adjusting bolts are readily accessible from the sides of the machine even though the dikes are relatively closely spaced and the roll exposed for a considerable part of its width.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a single preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that this embodiment is susceptible of various modifications that are within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be deemed to be limited to what has been described in detail herein by way of example but rather it should be deemed to be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

p 1. A dike for a paper coating machine comprising a Wall-forming body of lesser outline dimension than the area to be filled by the dike, means to form a channel along marginal edges of said body, an elongated gasket disposed partly within said channel and partly outside so as to present a continuous yieldable surface at the edge of the dike, an articulated backing member formed with a number of individual backing sections disposed in contact with corresponding sections of said gasket, and means selectively to move said backing sections against said gasket and thereby to alter the edge contour of the dike.

2. A dike for a paper coating machine comprising a wall-forming body of lesser outline dimension than the area to be filled by the dike, means to form a channel along marginal edges of said body, an elongated gasket disposed partly within said channel and partly outside so as to present a continuous yieldable surface at the edge of the dike, an articulated backing member formed with a number of individual backing sections disposed in contact with corresponding sections of said gasket, a plurality of slidable elements constrained by said body to in camming engagement therewith, thereby to control their positions.

3. A dike for a paper coating machine comprising a wall-forming body of lesser outline dimension than the area to be filled by the dike, an elongated gasket providing a continuous yieldable surface adjacent marginal edges of said body, a plurality of slidable elements adapted to move the respective gasket sections in and out with respect to said body, each of said slidable elements being constrained to move linearly by said body and each presenting a planar surface which is inclined relative to its line of movement, and a plurality of threaded elements projecting from said body with their axes at right angles to the lines of movement of the respective slidable elements, said threaded elements being adapted for turning at one end and being pointed at the other for camming engagement with the respective inclined surfaces of the slidable elements thereby to control their positions.

4. A dike for a paper coating machine comprising a wall-forming body of lesser outline dimension than the area to be filled by the dike, means to form a channel along marginal edges of said body, an elongated gasket disposed partly within said channel and partly outside so as to present a continuous yieldable surface at the edge of the dike, an articulated backing member formed with a number of individual backing sections disposed in contact with corresponding sections of said gasket, a plurality of slidable elements adapted to move the respective backing sections in and out with respect to said body, each of said slidable elements being constrained to move linearly by said body and each presenting a planar surface which is inclined relative to its line of movement, and a plurality of threaded elements projecting from said body with their axes at right angles to the lines of movement of the respective slidable elements, said threaded elements being adapted for turning at one end and being pointed at the other for contact with the respective inclined surfaces of the slidable elements thereby to control their positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,328,183 Barrett Aug. 31, 1943 

